Holding means for flares and the like



Dec. 26, 1939. x F. B. EMBURY 2,184,273

HOLDING MEANS FOR FLARES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 5, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet1 r. Y vl V l 7 .7 7' .Z W 9 Z 7 5 o L w 7; 73 r &2 Hi

, I INVENTO V rearz'ckzhma y Zz'sATTORNEYS Dec. 26, 1939. F. B. EMBURYHOLDING MEANS FOR FLARES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5,1958 ENTOR.

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:IIIIIIII llfiillifi'lili'lll ll. rlfiilfill a 2's TTORNEYS PatentedDec. 26, 1939 HOLDING MEANS FO-R AND THE .lLIKE Frederick B. Embury,Warsaw, N. Y.,'as signor to Embury Manufacturing Company, llt'arsaw,

N. Y., a corporation of New York v H e Applicat ion F bruary 5,, 1938.Serial o. '1'ss',959

Claims.- (Ol. 211-59) The present invention relates to meansiiforholding various articles, such as flares, when,

they are not in use. a

An object of the invention is the provision; of

5 holding means so designed as to hold the flares,

securely when not in use, preventing accidental displacement thereof,and yetpermittingthe flares to be removed easily and quickly when neededfor use.

Another object is the provision of holding means so designed that it maybe quickly applied to any suitable supporting surface, such as the,

wall of a truck body. v

Still another object is the provision of holding means So designed thattheflares may be securely locked in place against theft.

A further object is the provision of holding means and flaresso designedin cooperative re lation to each other that whena plurality of flaresare held by the holding means, theweight of the upper flares does notcause them to rub in an undesirable manner upon or otherwise damage thelower flares, and so designed that the flares can be both removed fromand replaced on the holding means with greatease and.

speed.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully de- 3ovscribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings: 7

Fig. 1 is a front view of holding means constructed in accordance with apreferred embodi- 3 ment of the invention, with the flares removedtherefrom;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same with a setof flares in place thereon;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary rear view of a flare so 4"or designed as tocooperate with the holding means;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top view of the same;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of the same;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the holding means and a set of flares heldthereon, the parts being in normal holding position; v

Fig. '7 is a similar view with the holding means moved to open positionfor removing or replacing the flares, and with two of the flares removedtherefrom;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 8-8 ofFig. 6;

'Fig. 9 is a vertical section'taken centrally on.

the line 9-9 of Fig. 8; e l v Fig. 10 is a plan view of the upper end ofthe s; ho insme and Fig. llis a vertical section taken substantially onthe line l|-- -H of Fig. 10. g l

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesame parts. J

It is desirable that trucks and other vehicles 5 carry flares, so thatif a vehicle becomes disabled while traveling at night, the flares canbe lit and setat appropriate distances from the dis[ abled-vehicle, towarn approaching motorists of tion, the flaresshould be set out speedilyafter.

the disabled vehicle comes to rest. vIf the flares are quickly andeasily available to the operator of the disabled vehicle, he isencouraged thereby to set them out quickly, but if 'theflares are car:15.

'ried by the vehicle in such a manner that they can be removed only withdifficulty, the operator islikely toneglect his duty of setting out theflares, particularly if he believes he can remedythe cause of thebreakdown in a few 20 minutes and proceed on his way. Hence the easewithwhich the flares may be removed from their holder and set out foruse is a matter of great importance and may have' a great bearingon thesafety offother motorists during travel at night. 25 Y The holding meansof the presentinvention is particularly designed to combine ease andspeed of removal of the flares, when required, with adequate and sturdyholding of the. flares in normal traveling position, when they are/not:3 required foruse In the form of construction shown in the drawings as"an illustrative example of the present invention, the holding meanscomprises a ge'rierally'U -shaped device formed or two side rods 2!connected to each other in- ,tegrally by across bar 23 at the bottom.The side'arms 2i and bottom 23 may all be" made from a single metal 'rod'suitably bent.

- 'The' bottom portion or cross member 23of this by a 'metal flange 25bentloosely around the ma 23 (Fig.9), which'flang'e 25 is .pa'rtjofa'lower supporting bracket 21 secured, as by means of rivets, nails, orscrews 29, to any suitablesupporting. surface indicateddiagrammaticallyat- 3|. The supporting surfacelmay be the side wall of a truck body ortrailer body, for example. The supporting bracket 21 has at' its upperedge anoutwardly extending'flange 33 Z(Figs. v8 and 9) provided withelongated slots 35 through which the rods 2| extend upwardly. The slots"35, being at some distance above the pivot axis 23, serve to limit theextent to which the rods 2|; may'swing outwardly away from the surface 3I The lengths of the slots are such that the up- U-shaped frame ispivoted in a" bearing formed 40.

the obstruction. For maximum safety protec- 1 0;

the supporting surface 3|, the upper ends of the rods are received inslots 4| (Figs. 10v and ,11)

extending inwardly from the outer' edge of a. horizontal flange 43formed on an upper bracket 45 secured to the supporting surface 3| bysuitable means,such as rivets, nails, or screws-47; The upper bracket 45is secured to the supporting surface bottom bracket 21 so that the upperends of the rods 2| will extend to an elevation slightly above theflange 4| of the upper bracket, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2-, 6 and 11.e

The flange 43 of the upper bracket 45- is bent upwardly at its outer orfront edge, as indicated at 5|. The slots 4| extend through theflange 5|as well as the flange 43, so that the rods 2| may swing outwardly awayfrom the supporting surface 3| throigh the slots, ormay swing backwardly through-the slots to the rear ends thereof. To hold the rods 2|in the slots 4|, latch means is provided, such as the latch member 53,of somewhat U-shaped cross section, as shown in Fig. 11, the front wallof the member 53 being pivoted to thebracket flange 5| by a pivot55-near one end ofthe bracket and latch member. The oppositeend of thelatch member is bent downwardly as at 51 (Fig. 1) and is so shaped as toform a spring detent engaging the adjacent end of the flange 43 of thebracket; Intermediate itslength, the latch member 53 has slots 59 (Fig.1d) inline with the rods 2|, the slots being elongated in a directionsubstantially parallel to the supporting surface 3|, so that the ends ofthe slots will clear the upper ends' of the rods when the latch isopened. or closed. When the rods are in normal traveling position, asshown in Figs. 6, 10', and 11, the upper ends of the rods lie in theslots 4| of the upper bracket, and the latch 53 lies close against theflange 43 ofthe upper bracket, the rods projecting through the slots 59in the latch 53 and being held by this latch against outward swingingmovement away from the surface 3|. The latch, in turn, is held inlatching position by its resilient'end 51' tightly engaging thecorresponding end of the fixed flange 43. It is but the work of amoment, however, to press upwardly on theend 51 of the latch, in anoblique direction away from the pivot 55, and this will spring the latchpast the end of the flange 43 and enable it to be swung upwardly aboutits pivot 55 until it clears the top endsof the rods 2|, the openposition of the latch being illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Whenthe latch has thus been opened the rods 2| are free to swing outwardlythrough the open ends of the slots, and away from the supporting surface3| to the extent permitted by the lengths of the slots. 35 in the lowerbracket 21.

If it is desired to provide a lock on the latch to prevent unauthorizedopening of the latch, this may be done by placing the bow of a padlockthrough alined holes 6| (Fig. 10) in the latch 53 and the flange'43.

3| at an appropriate distance from the The flares to be held by theholding means may be of any suitable known construction, except for thespecial features specifically described below. For instance, the flaresmay each comprise a main body 1| constituting a container for holdingfuel such as oil, the body being surmounted by a removable cap 13 withinwhich is a Wick or other burner device which may be lighted when the capis removed.

r Secured to or formed as part of each flare body |'|*'is suitable meansforming eyes or loops to be limpaled'on the rods 2|. In the preferredform -he're shown, these eyes are formed by wires or smallrods 15rigidly secured in upright position to. the sides of. the flare bodiesll the wires being bent laterally: at elevations substantially levelwith the top of the cap 13, as shown at 77, and

formed into loops (Fig. 4), the wire then extending approximatelyhorizontally from one loop ll 'to the other, as shown at 79.

These upright-wires ls', near-the bottom of the body- H, are also bentlaterally to form loops 8| similar to the loops Tl, the wires preferablyterminating after completing these loops. The upright portions- 75 ofthe wires are securely held to the flare body "1| byany suitable means,such as welding reen-forced if desired by plates 83 overlying parts ofthe wires 75 and welded to the wires and to the body 7|.

1 The two loops or eyes T! are spaced from each other center to centerthe same distance asthe center to center spacing of the two parallelholding rods 2|, and the same istrue of the two eyes 8I.'- The eyes aresufficiently oflsetlaterally from all parts of the flare bodyso that therods 2| may extend through the eyes without interfering with other partsof the flare body. Thus the flares may be impaled on the rods 2| bymoving each flare downwardly onto the free top ends of the-rods 2| whenthe rods are swung to open position, the rods first passing through thetwo lowerloops BI and then through the two upper loops H of each flareas'the flare is moved downwardly onto the rods. 7

The rods may be of the proper length to hold any desired number offlares. Three flares are usuallycarried, and in the present illustrativeexample therods are shown of proper length to accommodate three flares.

When the flares are in place on the holding rods, the loops 8| at thebottom of the lower flare rest on the top of the bracket plate 33.Preferably this bracket plate 33 is curved downwardly in an outwarddirection, as shown in Figs. 6, 7,' and 9, so the loops 8| restingthereon will slide smoothly over the plate when the rods 2| are tiltedoutwardly from closed or latched'position to open position.

The second flare is-placed on the rods above the bottom flare, and theloops 8| at the bottom of the second flare rest on top of the loops Tlat the top of the lower flare. The elevation of these loops with respectto the flare bodies is such that the bottom wall of the second flare isheld just above and out of contact with the top of the cap F3 on thebottom flare. The same is trueof the third or top flare. Thus the weightof the higher flares does not rest upon the cap 13 orother partsof thebodies of the lower flares, but is taken entirely by the wire frames 15and loops 1! and 81, which are the only parts of the respectiveflares-which contact with each other when the flares are in normalposition fortravel. Any jolting or jarring of the flares thus does notscrape the top of'thecap' l3 of one flare against the bottom of the body.of the next higherflare, and this avoids scratching or otherwisemarring the flares as well as any possibility that continued jarringwould wear. a hole in the bottom of an upper flare and cause the liquidfuel to leak therefrom.

The height of the upper bracket .43 above the lower. bracket plate 33.is preferably such that when the desired number of flares are in placeon the rod 2! and the rod is moved back to its vertical or travelingposition, the upper loops 11 on the uppermost flare will just flt snuglybeneath the plate 43 of the upper bracket, which bracket will thus holdthe flares against upward jolting or jarring during travel of thevehicle. In use, the required number of flares are placed on the rods 2!and the latch 53 is swung downwardly so that the upper ends of the rodsextend through the slots 59 in the latch, and are held thereby againstoutward movement to open position. The latch 53 is securely held inplace against accidental opening by means of the resilient detent 51,but if further security is desired, a padlock may be applied through theholes 6|.

When the vehicle carrying this assembly 01 flares is disabled at night,it is but the work of a moment for the operator to swing the latch 53upwardly (first unlocking the padlock if one has been used) and thisimmediately releases the upper ends of the rods 2| so that they may beswung outwardly to the position shown in Fig. '7. The flares are thensimply lifted upwardly, sliding readily upwardly along the rods 2| untilthe lower loops 8i of each flare come off the ends of the rods. Theflares are then placed at the proper distance from the vehicle and lit,in the usual manner.

When the vehicle is ready to proceed on its way, the flares areextinguished and put back on the rods 2| by a downwardmotion, and therods are then swung back into the slots 41 and the latch 53 swungdownwardly to hold the rods in normal traveling position. If the flarebodies become hot during use so that it is difficult to touch them, theupwardly extending ends of the wires 15 will be found to cool ofifquickly, and can be used as convenient handles by which to lift theflares to carry them back to the vehicle when they have beenextinguished and toplace them in traveling position on the holding rods2|.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number ofways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precisedetails described, but is intended to cover all variations andmodifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Means for holding a flare having two laterally spaced eyes, saidholding means including two upstanding rods substantially parallel toeach other and spaced from each other by a distance correspondingsubstantially to the lateral spacing of said eyes, a transverse rodconnecting said two upstanding rods to each other adjacent their lowerends, mounting means encircling said transverse rod and forming abearing in which said transverse rod may rotate so that said upstandingrods may swing with said transverse rod, and releasable latching meansfor holding the upper ends of said upstanding rods in substantiallyfixed position, said upper ends when released from said latching meansbeing swingable to a position in which a flare may be impaled on saidrods-by downward movement onto the free upper ends thereof or may beremoved therefrom by a reverse movement.

2. A construction as described inclaim l, further including meansadjacent the lower ends of said upstanding rods for limiting the extentto which said rods. may swing away from latched position. i

3. Means for holding a flare having two laterally spaced eyes, saidholding means including two upstanding rods substantially parallel toeach other and spaced from each other by a distance correspondingsubstantially to the lateral spacing of said eyes, a transverse rodconnectingsaid two upstanding rods to each other adjacent their lowerends, mounting means encircling said transverse rod and forming abearing in which said transverse rod may rotate so that said upstandingrods may swing with said transverse rod, a flange secured to saidmounting means and extending transversely to said upstanding rods abovesaid bearing and having openings substantially larger than said rods inthe direction of movement of said rods and through which said rods pass,said openings limiting swinging movement of said rods in one direction,and releasable latching means cooperating with said upstanding rods neartheir upper ends to hold them in substantially flxed position, saidupstanding rods when released from said latching means being swingablefrom said fixed position to the extent permitted by said openings, to aposition in which said eyes of a flare may readily be moved downwardlyonto or moved upwardly off of the upper ends of said upstanding rods.

4. A construction as described in claim 1, in which said releasablelatching means includes a flange extending transversely to saidupstanding rods near their upper ends and having slots alined with saidupstanding rods and extending in the directions of movement of said rodswhen said rods are swung in said bearing, said slots having open outerends so that said rods may swing freely into and out of said slots, andretaining means movable with respect to said flange between an efiectivelatching position retaining said upstanding rods in said slots and anineffective unlatching position out of the path of movement of saidrods.

5. Means for holding a flare having two laterally spaced eyes, saidholding means including two upstanding rods substantially parallel toeach other and spaced from each other by a distance correspondingsubstantially to the lateral spacing of said eyes, the spacing meanscomprising a transverse rod connecting said two upstanding said rods andlimiting swinging movement of said rods in one direction, a bracketincluding a second flange extending transversely to said upstanding rodsnear their upper ends and having slots alined with said upstanding rodsand extending in the directions of movement of said rods when said rodsare swung, said slots having open outer ends so that said rods may swingsaid rods out of said slots in said second .flange, said .rods beingswingable when said latch memher is in said inefiective position to aposition clear :of said bracket, in which position the eyes of .a flaremay readily be moved downwardly onto 5 or upwardly ofi of the upper endsof said .upstanding :rods.

FREDERICK B. EMBURY.

